Textile finishing agent



Patented Sept. 2, 1952 UNI-TED s rAr as m ; N. Y., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. ApplicationDecember 21, 1946, I Serial No. 717,821

The present invention relates to improvedtex tile material having a permanent sizing thereon and to the novel process .and composition employed in producing the same.

Many textiles are commonly sized or impregnated with some material which imparts'a desirable finish' thereto' However, many, of the materials employed for "sizing textiles (for instance, starch) are water solwble and so are not wash-fast, and are removed from the fabric in the course of one or at most several launderings or dry-cleanings. In order to impartia permanent finish to textiles, it has been prop'osedto impregnate them with various synthetic resins which would remain on the fabric even after re peated washings. Howeverfinost of the resins and similar materials which have been suggested for use as textile-finishing agents are not satisfactory since they-' either impart too harsh a finish to the fabric, make it too brittle, weaken the fabric, or are otherwise objectionable.

I have now found that "a desirable permanent 6 Claims. (oi. 'zsm-aas) finish may be imparted to textiles,'and particularly to those of vegetable origin (i. e. cotton. linen, rayon and the'like), by impregnating the fabric with a compositioncomprising a mixture of (l) a 'polyhydr'io alcohol and (2) a synthetic resin obtained by polymerizing maleic anhydride together with a vinyl compound capable of being polymerized and "containing a single C:CI-I2 group and subsequently baking or heating the impregnated fabric-so as to effect afcross-linking esterification reaction which sets the finish on the fabric. Thereis thus'im'p'arted to the fabric a desirable finish and stifiness which is wash-fast.

While a wide variety of polyhydric' alcohols have been employed in the impregnating composition embodied in this invention and have been found to impart adesirablefinish totextiles, it has been found that textiles treated in accordance with the present invention (wherein the polyvinyl alcohol was employedas the polyhydric. alcohol) possessed a superior stifiness and washfastness when polyvinyl alcohol was employed as the polyhydric alcohol component of the sizing composition and therefore in the preferred embodiment of this invention polyvinyl alcohol is employed as the polyhydric alcohol component of the sizing composition embodied in this invention.

However, many of the advantages of the present invention are obtainediwhenother polyhydric alcohols are employed inthe sizing composition and therefore such materials as dextrine, inannitol, glycerine, polyglycerine, partially hydrolyzed polyvinyl acetate, cliethylene glycol or mixtures thereon-andthe like, may be employed in place of polyvinyl alcohol as the polyhydric "alcohol component .oftheoomposition embodied in this invention. 1.; r

The synthetic resins obtainable by polymerizing maleic anhydride together with avinyl compound which is capable of being polymerized and containin a single C=CH2 group, which are employed as another component of the composition embodied in the present invention and used in practicing the process and producing the finished textile material thereof, are-those of the type described in U. S. Patent No. 2,047,398 to Voss and Dickhauser, which are obtainedby polymerizing amixture of maleic anhydrideand a vinyl or vinylidine compound containing a single C:CH2 group such as, for example, vinyl ethers (e. g. methyl vinyl ether, ethyl vinyl ether, phenylvinyl ether, etc.) ;.;vinyl esters ('e..g. vinyl acetate, etc); vinylhalides (e. g. vinyl chloride; etc); arylethylene (e. .g. styrene, etc.) acrylic, methacrylic, haloacrylic acids and esters, and the like. The relative proportions of maleic anhye dride and said polymerizablecompound employed in producing this synthetic resin may be varied through a relatively wide range and satisfactory products haveloeen obtained when the ratio'of maleic anhydride to said polymerizable compound was within the range of 1:4 to 4:1 by weight. "In general, howevergit has been found that superior products are obtained for the purposes of the present invention when I some excess of said polymerizable compound is employed in producing the synthetic resin. I

The synthetic resins obtainedby polymerizing maleic anhydride and acompou'nd containing a single C:CHz group are acid in character due to the presence therein of free canboxyl groups and it has been found that when compositions comprising a mixture of a polyhydric alcohol and a resin of this type are employed forimpregnating textiles, the fabric is frequently tendered; i. e., its tear strength'is substantially lowered. Such tendering of the fabric occurs only when the pH of the impregnating composition iallslbe low 3.2 and the tendering :becomes quite noticeable when the pI-Iof the impregnating composition is below about 3.0. It is therefore possibleto impart a desirable finish to the fabrics byimpregnating them with a composition comprising a mixture of a polyhydricalcohol anda resin of :the type obtained by polymerizing amixture of maleic anhydride and a compound; capable of being polymerized and containinga single C=CH2 group Withouttendering the-fabric, provided the synthetic resin employed in the impregnating composition has a pH above 3.0 and preferably above 3.2. It has also been found that a desirable finish is imparted to the fabric and the fabric is not tendered, even when the synthetic resin has a lower pH than that specified, provided the pH of the impregnating composition is adjusted so that it lies above 3.0 and preferably 3.2. The pH of the impregnating composition may readily be adjusted by incorporating a sufiioient amount of an alkali therein, so that its pH falls above 3.0. Examples of basic substances useful for altering the pH of the impregnating compositions include ammonia, alkali and alkali earth metal hydroxides (such as potassium hydroxides, calcium hydroxide); basic salts of the alkali and alkali earth metals (such as potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, disodium phosphate, etc.) organic amines (such as primary amines, methylamine, monoethanolamine, aniline, etc.) secondary amines '(such as dimethylamine, diethanolamine, methyl aniline, etc.) tertiary amines (such as trimethylamine, triethanolamine, dlmethyl aniline, etc.) andthe like. However, it has been found that if the pH of the impregnating solution is too high, the finish imparted to the cloth is not permanent. Apparently, this is due to the fact that when the impregnating solution has too high a pH, the cross-linking esterification reaction does not occur to a sufii- .cient extent to produce a permanent finish. In

order to impart a permanent finish to the fabric. it is necessary that the impregnating composition have a pH below 4.5, and preferably below 4.0. Therefore, in practicing the present invention the impregnating composition which is employed is one which has a pH within the range of 3.0 to 4.5 and preferably within the range of 3.2 to 4.0, this desired pH being obtained by incorporating an alkali in the composition.-

The quantitative proportions in which the components of the impregnating composition may be used in carrying out the invention varies within wide limits. For example, a ratio of 8 parts of the polyhydric alcohol to 1 part of the mixed polymer of a C=CH2 containing compound and maleic anhydride may be present in the impregnating solution, but it is also possible toiuse a mixture of 1 part of the polyhydric alcohol to 5 parts of the mixed polymer. While the quantitative proportions of the components of the impregnating composition may be varied within the range above specified, it has been. found that the best finishes are obtained when at least an equivalent amount (and preferably a slight excess up to about 3 parts) of polyhydric alcohol is employed for each part of synthetic maleic anhydride polymerizable vinyl compound resin.

This novel textile impregnatin composition may be applied to textiles in the form of a solution, emulsion, or dispersion in water or some other inert liquid. It will be apparent that the solution employed for impregnating the fabric must not be too concentrated or viscous or an uneven finish may be obtained. On the other hand, the solution employed for impregnating the fabric must contain a sufiicient amount of the impregnating composition so that the fabric will pick up and retain a sufiicient amount thereof to impart the desired finish thereto. The amount of impregnating composition which should be incorporated in the solution employed to impregnate the fabric in order that a sufiicient amount will be retained by the fabric to impart 4 the desired finish thereto can readily be determined by simple preliminary experiments.

The impregnated fabric is dried and then heated to cause the cross-linking esterification reaction, thereby resultin in a permanent finish. The rate of cross-linking is dependent on temperature, the reaction taking place much more rapidly at elevated temperatures than at lower temperatures. For example, one may produce the desired effect by heating the impregnated cotton fabric at about 175 C. for a few seconds, 150 C. for a few minutes or 100 C. for a few hours. The upper limit of temperature and time of heating is dependent on the resistance of the fabric to tendering and scorching. It has been found that the impregnating composition of the present invention, when applied as above described, is useful as a permanent stiffening agent (sizing agent) for cellulosic fabrics and as a slip-proofing agent for rayon. The finish thus imparted to the fabric is washfast; i. e. in the case of the preferred composition, comprising the polyvinyl alcohol and the polymerization product of maleic anhydride and a vinyl compound in the preferred pH range, the composition resists removal from fabrics appreciably by 5 to 10 soap washings. It also resists dry-cleaning, retards chlorine absorption and increases the gas-fading time, this latter property being particularly noticeable in the case of rayon impregnated textiles.

The following examples, in which the parts are by weight, illustrate preferred specific embodiments of the invention:

EXAMPLE 1 -90 C., at which point solution appears to occur rapidly. A semi-transparent solution is obtained after 10 minutes stirring at 85-90 C; The solution is then cooled to room temperature. The solution of the mixed polymer and the solution of polyvinyl alcohol are mixed to give a solution having a pH of approximately 2.2. This solution has the following composition:

Per cent Polymerization product of methyl vinyl ether and maleic anhydride .1379 Polyvinyl alcohol 3.05 Distilled H20 95.16

Total 100.00

The pH of the mixture is adjusted to about 3.5 by the addition of'various basic substances as shown in Table I below. The quantities of bases added were all small, the highest being 1.7 mi; therefore, the dilutioneffect was negligible.

The impregnating composition employed in this example was also prepared by the following procedure: A mixture of 17.9 parts of the polymer from methyl vinyl ether and maleic anhydride, 30.5 parts of polyvinyl alcohol and 952 parts of distilled water is stirred for 5 minutes at room 5 temperature to disperse-ingredients. The mixture is heated to 90 .C. with continuous agitation. After about 7 minutes at 90 C., itmay benoted that dissolution is taking place by the fact that A mixture of 7.5 parts of the polymer of styrene and maleic anhydride, 05 part of concentrated ammonium hydroxide and 240 parts of distilled the Speed of the Stirrer'decreased Suddenly; 5 water was heated at 90 C. with stirring for 2 dtcatmg that the Solution was becommg more hours. The resultant clear solution was cooled. viscous. The mixture is heated with stirring at To 1305 parts of this composition was added 90 90 C. for an additional 15 minutes, then cooled partsof a 75% aqueous Solution of polyvinyl to mm temperame- The PH Of'the mixture-is 0.1001101 Pont Elvanol Grade 71-24). The adjusted to about and padded onto 30 X resultant" solution had a pI-I'of 3.1. A second cotton cloth, dried and baked as described above. mixture Dre-pared as above except that. L7 parts composition prepared in this manner was of'ammonium hydroxide was added, had-a pH of similar inall respects to that-previously described. 2 The x s' p d' 30 X 80 cotton The solution, as prepared above, was padded cloth to approximately 100% wet pickup, Onto 80 X 80 cotton cloth t a Wet plck'up up cloths were dried onthe hot can at 110 C. and to 100% dependmg on the .stlfiness 0 t Product then baked at 150" 010i 2 minutes. Immediately desired. Each cloth was then dried on the hot after baking, they weresoaped for 5 can (approximately 110 C.?, then bakedfi minutes in a water solution containing 0.5% 150 for 2 minutes, soaped in a water solution green Soap and 05% sodium arbona-Jte then wntalmng green a 9 rinsed in running water for 5 minutes and finally carbonate 50 for mmutes rmised ironed dry. The finishes so produced were wash nlng water for approximately 5 minutes and fast and'ofdesimble smmesa then ironed dry on a rotary iron. Depending on Rip strength data (m the finished cloths the amount of wet pick-up, a full to crisp washfollows: fast finish is obtained. Rip stfngth The rip resistance of the finished cloth was 1 determined by a tongue tear test using a Scott r tester, using a procedure similar to that described PH 9 Warp Fmmg in the ASTM Standards on Textile Materials, v committee 13-13. 1943.11.50. The ript on: it:3::::::::1::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 13383338 13032835 sisted of measuring the force in pounds necessary to rip a rectangular piece of cloth from a cut 1 made in the short edge of the cloth. The values EXAMPLE 3 reported are averages of seven warp and seven A textile impregnating composition was prefilling samples cut from each sample of finished pared as in Example 2, except that the polymer cloth. By a warp rip sample is meant one having of vinyl acetate and maleic anhydride was subits longer dimension parallel to the filling yarns. stituted for the polymer of styrene and maleic A filling rip specimen is one having it longer anhydride. The resulting product, after adjustdimension parallel to the warp yarns. The reing the pH to 3.5, imparted a. crisp, permanent sults of the rip tests re shown in Table I. 40. finish to cellulosic fabrics.

Table I R- St th b. TeStNO Additive Agentfor m l.ofAddig g gggfl 1p mg a ad ustment of pH tive Agent Solution Warp Filling 0.60 3. 57 1.35:0.3 1.3a 0.5 0. e0 3. 55 1. 355:0. 25 1. 30:1:0. 20 0. 00 s. 55 1. 705:0. 20 1. 40:1;0. 40 0.10 3.53 1.80:1:025 1.25:1:0. 35 0.00 3. 52 1. 80:l:0. 25 1.35:1;0. 25 0.02 3. 00 2. 10:1:0. 30 1. 0&0. 30 0. 00 3.52 1.15:1:040 1. 505:0. 30 1.50 3. 40 1. 3510. 30 1.25:1:0. 15

1. 70 3.40 1. 855:0. 30 1. 15i0. 20 11 Ethanolamine 0. 55 3.43 1.05:1:050 130=1=0.25 l2 Diethanolamine 1.00 3. 55 1 =l=0. 20 l 45:!=0.45 13 Triethanolamine 1.20 3.48 1. 755:0.40 1 45:1:020

CONTROL EXPERIMENTS 14 No pH adjustment of impreg nating solution 2.39 1 50=l=0.20 1.10=|=0.20 15 do 2. 39 1 45:};120 1.05=1=0. 10

1 NH4OH used contained approximately 29% NHs.

1 N aOH solution used contained 5 g. NaOH in 30 g. of aqueous solution.

I claim: 1. The method of treating cellulosictextiles to 7 size the same and impart a permanent finish thereto, which comprises impregnating a ce lulosic textile fabric with an aqueous solution of a mixture consisting e sentially of polyvinyl alcohol and a synthetic resin obtained by polymerizing maleic anhydride, together with an excess of up to four times theweight thereof of a compound capable of being polymerized and containing a single C=CH2 groupand an amount of a basic substance such that said solution of said mixture has a pH of from;3.0 to 4.5 and heating the thus-impregnated fabric to set the size, said polyvinyl alcohol and said synthetic resin being present in such proportions that at least an equivalent amount up to three parts by weight of polyvinyl alcohol are present for each part of said synthetic resin, said mixture ofpolyvinyl alcohol and said synthetic resin in aqueous'solution having a pH less than 3 in the-absence of said basic substance; 1 1

2. The sized textile fabric produced by the process as defined in claim 1. V

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the compound, capable of being polymerized and containing a single C=CH2 group which is polymerized with maleic anhydride, is methyl vinyl ether. a

4. The sized textile fabric produced by the process as defined in claim 3. g

5. A composition adapted for use as a textile size for cellulosic materials, consisting of a solution in water of polyvinyl alcohol and a synthetic resin obtained by polymerizing maleic anhydride, together with an excess of up to four times the weight thereof of a compound capable of being polymerized and containing a single C=CH2 group, and an amount of a basic substance such that said solution has a pH of from 3.0 to 4.5,

said polyvinyl alcohol and said synthetic resin being present in such proportions that at least an equivalent amount up to three parts by weight of polyvinyl alcohol are present for each part of said synthetic resin, said solution having a pH less than 3 in the absence of said basic substance.

6. The composition as defined in claim 5, wherein the compound capable of being polymerized and containing a single C=CH2 group is methyl vinyl ether.

' CARL SPATT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,047,398 Voss et a1. July 14, 1936 2,324,739 Stoops et a1 July 20, 1943 2,356,879 Pense et a1 Aug. 29, 1944 2,418,688 Atwood Apr. 8, 1947 2,419,880 Blyler et a1 Apr. 29, 1947 2,469,408 Powers et a1. May 10, 1949 2,469,409 Powers et a]. May 10, 1949 2,487, 23 Cuprey Nov. 8, 1949 OTHER REFERENCES Matthews: pages 36, 37, and 38, "Application of Dyestuffs, published 1920 by John Wiley & Sons, N. Y. 

5. A COMPOSITION ADAPTED FOR USE AS A TEXTILE SIZE FOR CELLULOSIC MATERIALS, CONSISTING OF A SOLUTION IN WATER OF POLYVINYL ALCOHOL AND A SYNTHETIC RESIN OBTAINED BY POLYMERIZING MALEIC ANHYDRIDE, TOGETHER WITH AN EXCESS OF UP TO FOUR TIMES THE WEIGHT THEREOF OF A COMPOUND CAPABLE OF BEING POLYMERIZED AND CONTAINING A SINGLE >C=CH2 GROUP, AND AN AMOUNT OF A BASIC SUBSTANCE SUCH THAT SAID SOLUTION HAS A PH OF FROM 3.0 TO 4.5, SAID POLYVINYL ALCOHOL AND SAID SYNTHETIC RESIN BEING PRESENT IN SUCH PROPORTIONS THAT AT LEAST AN EQUIVALENT AMOUNT UP TO THREE PARTS BY WEIGHT OF POLYVINYL ALCOHOL ARE PRESENT FOR EACH PART OF SAID SYNTHETIC RESIN, SAID SOLUTION HAVING A PH LESS THAN 3 IN THE ABSENCE OF SAID BASIC SUBSTANCE. 